Back in the Saddle - Part 2

When you locate Sunny outside, she can be seen wielding a rifle with her dog standing guard nearby. Here, she's going to teach you how to shoot a gun. Now, even Fallout 3 fans will want to pay attention to this tutorial, because shooting in New Vegas is done a little differently. Unlike in Fallout 3, New Vegas allows you to aim down the sights, which means that you can realistically fight without the use of VATS, even in tough situations. It gives New Vegas a much bigger FPS-type flair, for sure. Follow her instructions to a tee, shooting the empty beer bottles off of the ledge behind the bar. And keep in mind the excellent advice she gives you, about steadying your aim by taking a knee. This piece of advice will be useful for the rest of the game.

From here, you can actually opt to end this entire tutorial, but even if you've already played New Vegas (or feel comfortable enough from your Fallout 3 experience to go on), we suggest going through the entire tutorial. It's not so much what you're taught that's important, as much as the experience you earn and cash you receive is. There's really no reason to not do the tutorial, as Fallout: New Vegas isn't one of those games you rush through. So for starters, follow Sunny to a nearby locale, where you'll need to clear a group of hostile Geckos from a precious water supply. Take out these simplistic enemies using VATS from afar. For your help, Sunny should give you some more 5.56mm Rounds to use in that Varmint Rifle she handed over to you earlier.

Now, all that's left to do is to follow Sunny to two new locations where you'll find some Geckos. These are technically two separate locations, but in reality, the locations kind of blur due to their close proximity. The first group of three Geckos will likely be subdued by Sunny before you can participate, but further up the path on your left, you'll find a Goodsprings citizen under attack by another trio of Geckos. If you kill them in time, you can save this woman, but if she falls, be sure to scour her body for anything useful. Then, speak with Sunny. She'll give you 50 Bottle Caps for your reward, and offer up a true Side Quest for you to undertake at your convenience. This Side Quest is called By a Campfire on the Trail, and you can find more information on it in the Side Quests section of this guide .